As Members of Congress campaign for votes at home, the National Partnership for Women & Families and two of our key allies have been hard at work educating Congressional staff about the public health and economic security case for paid sick days policies.

It is well-documented that the wage gap hurts women and their families by denying them the fair wages that would help them pay for essential items like groceries, gasoline, and rent or mortgage payments. But the pay gap hurts women long after they have left the workforce, too.

It's the first Monday in October, and the Supreme Court convenes today for a new term. But this term is different from all others because, today for the first time ever, three women are serving together on our highest court. It is significant -- momentous -- that one-third of the Court is female, even though that fraction does not yet represent our proportion of the population. But it is a sign of progress that was once almost unimaginable for me and most of my peers.